England manager Roy Hodgson could intervene if old tensions emerge between Rio Ferdinand and Ashley Cole

Roy Hodgson will sit down and talk with Rio Ferdinand and Ashley Cole if he
senses any sign of lingering tension between the pair following their
falling-out last summer. Ferdinand, recalled to the England squad yesterday,
was angered that Cole gave evidence for his Chelsea team-mate John Terry,
who was accused of racially abusing Ferdinand’s brother Anton.

“The spirit in the group is good,’’ said Hodgson of the squad. “They do seem to care about each other. I would be unhappy if there were tensions between players in a group but on the other hand this is England.

"These players are fierce rivals sometimes on the field of play and they have special agendas for their club teams. There is always when you bring a national team together the job of making sure people are comfortable with each other.

“But we are talking about two very experienced professional players here and we are talking about the England football team. I don’t envisage any problems. They were very good friends.

"I expect the pair of them to do their job with England, Ashley to do his job at left-back and Rio to do his at centre-half. I’m rather hoping the long-term friendship can re-emerge and the unfortunate incident along the way can be forgotten.

"Let’s hope [there are no issues]. I will cross that bridge when I come to it. I like to do my talking to players face to face.’’

Hodgson admitted that it could be “a concern” that Ferdinand might have a grievance with him.

“Yes but I can’t do more than I am now, giving him the chance to come back, making it clear I would like to use him. If he has a grievance and does hold it against me that I haven’t selected him previously then there is not much I can do about that.”

Ferdinand was known to be furious about some of Hodgson’s remarks about him over the past year whether to the press or punters on the Tube.

On May 16, 2012, Hodgson claimed that he “left out Rio Ferdinand for football reasons’’ when selecting Terry.

On Oct 3, while travelling on the Jubilee Line, Hodgson told fellow passengers: “I have to say it is over for him and England. It has got to be the end of the road. He is pushing 34 and hasn’t played for England for a long, long time.’’

The following day, needing to address the storm of headlines, Hodgson said: “I would never dream of telling a player it’s the end of the line or the end of the road or whatever I am supposed to have said. That is up to every player to decide for himself.”

After beating Brazil on Feb 6, Hodgson said: “I’m not going to talk about him.’’

On Thursday, having done his reverse ferret, Hodgson said: “I am still sick of talking about it! You say one thing one day, one thing another day. At the moment I have selected him because I think he is the right man to do the job.

"I’m hoping he will be pleased. I am hoping he plays so well that he plays every single game England play from now to eternity.’’

Hodgson’s decision to bring Ferdinand back in from the cold is rooted in pragmatism and should be applauded. England have to avoid defeat against Montenegro in Podgorica otherwise they are surely destined for the 2014 World Cup qualifying play-offs. Even a point might prove insufficient, although Hodgson is convinced England will win their remaining home qualifiers.

With Phil Jagielka injured and Joleon Lescott not starting regularly for Manchester City, Ferdinand is the most in-form centre-half, along with Michael Dawson.

Hodgson indicated that Ferdinand would start against Montenegro. “If Rio is still playing like he is now in 2014 he will be a major candidate for a place in the squad,’’ added the England manager.

Hodgson noted the controversies that had followed Ferdinand at Old Trafford in recent days, notably clapping sarcastically in the face of Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir, who had angered United by sending off Nani, and also tripping and pushing Chelsea’s Fernando Torres.

Neither Uefa nor the FA deemed the offences worthy of sanction.

“I don’t often leave before the end of games but I did at United [against Chelsea] so I didn’t see that [Torres] one,’’ said Hodgson. “You might argue he was a bit lucky at the end of game with the Turkish referee but I thought Manchester United were unlucky with the referee as well.

“You cannot expect players to be boy scouts. They care, they are emotional. It was a massive blow to go out to Real Madrid in that way after playing so well. Yes, everyone should behave. No one should say things out of turn or make a gesture but they do. I am just pleased he didn’t get punished and it could be good for him in the future.’’

Hodgson had supportive words for Ferdinand’s United colleague Wayne Rooney, who was dismissed on his last visit to Podgorica.

“He is more than aware. You don’t forget your sendings-off. Away matches at this level of football require a lot of discipline, not only tactical discipline but also mental so I will be speaking to all the players but I won’t be singling out Wayne for that.’’

Hodgson welcomed back Ben Foster. “People do get upset when people turn their back on their country. He obviously had his reasons at the time. Now he feels he is in a position where he can make himself available and I am happy to select him, because he makes our squad stronger.”

He had to field one final question on Ferdinand. Asked whether Ferdinand could be captain if Gerrard and Lampard were not on the pitch, Hodgson sighed: “I haven’t worked with the man yet, give me a chance.”